The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for a chain drive which is capable of automatically maintaining chain tension as needed with an automatic chain adjustor.
Conventional chain drives can encounter chain jumping when the chain loosens up. The chain can become loose for a number of reasons over time. For example, the chain can loosen from wear of a steel chain on steel gears. Pins can wear down. As a chain wears down the chain gets longer and requires an adjustment to take up the slack. Otherwise, an improperly adjusted chain can start jumping on the sprocket and possibly tear the teeth of the sprocket off. An example of how chain drives are currently adjusted can be seen in snowmobiles. A manually adjusted chain tension system may normally require loosening a jam nut and screw in the adjustor by hand. Although, in general, these devices have performed satisfactorily, those devices would benefit from greater ease of use.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for automatically adjusting chain tension that improves upon or overcomes some of those disadvantages of currently used systems and methods.